Production of carbon



m" Drawing.

Patented July 155, i924.

atin T Frica.

A LICE MARION HART, OF LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN.llfillirlq'fls,

10 EDMUND R. CUMMINS OF'WORGESTER, MASSACHUETTS 1 1 rnonuo'rlon oroannon.

T 0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, ALICE MAnioN HART, a subject of the King of" Great Britain residing at London, England, have invente' certain new and useful Improvements in and Relating to the Production of Carbon,

ot which the following is a specification.

This invention is for improvements in the 7 production of carbon, and has particular reference to the carbonlzation of peat,

lignite, sawdust and such like, and of waste materials, such as the refuse ofcotton, paper and rice husking mills, straw, dead leaves, river suds, and 'non-mucilaginous: seaweed,

as for example the Poseidom'a austmlio According to the present invention the material to be carbonized is, if necessary,

ground into a coarse powdenland is impregnated with a weak solution of a metallic salt and is then roasted. one ,hot plate to carbonization, while freely exposed to the air. bonate', sulphate, chloride or acetate, and the correspondingpotassium salts; Sodium, or potassium phos hate, ferrous sulphate and calcium chloridia. As a general rule it will be found that the salt may be used in,

relatively quite small roportions and permits of carbonization m'the open air without appreciable production of ash. That is to say the addition of the'salt prevents combustion of the material and thus permits carbonization to be carried on with full access of air. If the salt were not added, combustion would obviously take place.

For example, in carrying this invention into effect dried peat, ground or disinte' grated, as may be required, is mo1stened throughout witlral per centsolutionof sodium carbonate (or soda crystals) in approximately the proportion of one half pint to a pint ,0 solution to one pound of the dry peat and the mass so impregnated is roasted Jon a hot-plate with accessof airnntil c0miplctely carbonized. -"-;,Wet peat may be carbonized in a similar liilanner. In this case no added Watcr is required, the metallic salt in the proportion of about Grist-per cent, is dissolved in the least possible amount of water, and is intimately mixed with the peat by an appropriate nethod of disintegration. The process of carbonization is the same as that described above.

The salts utilizable are sodium car-- I I Application filed .luly 7, 1922. Serial No. 573,479. I

' Alternatively weak solutions of a ferrous sulphate, or one 'of the salts alread mentioned, may be used, care being tahen, in reference to the use to which the carbon is to be put, that the salt employed should be one which will either not be detrimental or can be-easily removed.

In the case .where a pure carbon is required it should be boiled in a dilute $01111 tion of hydrochloric acid, for instance a 1 per cent solution and then dried. The ash can thus be reduced to under l'per centand. ,consists. chieflyof calcium chloride, and

silica.

The carbon produced may be directly worked up into briquettes for furnace fuel, in which .case it is important to select a binder which carbonizesand does not va-- porize with heat.

Ithns been found that by the process herein set forth materials such as peat or sawdust can be readily and economically carbonizpglL-and carbon obtained in good yield.., i

I claim:

1. A process of .carbonizing carbon containing materials, for the production of car-v bon, consisting in treating the materials to be carbonized with a metallic salt of a nature to prevent immediate combustion of the materialbut permit carbonization thereof under heat, and then subjecting the mass of a metallic salt of such nature as to prevent immediate combustion of the material but permit carbonization thereof under heat,-

and then roasting the mass while, freelyexposed to air.

3[ A process of carbonizing carbon containing materials, for the. production of carbon, consisting in impregnating the materials to be treated with a weak solution of a metallic salt of a character to prevent im mediate combustion of the material while permitting carboniz'ation thereof under heat, and themroasting same on a hotplate whilefreely exposed to air.

4. A process of carbonizing carbon containing material for the production of carbon consisting in moistening said material with a solution of a sodium salt and roasting same while exposed to the air, until complete carbonization takes place.

5. A process of carbonizing carbon containing materials, such as peat, lignite, sawdust, suds, and the like, for the production of carbon, consisting in intimately distributing throughout, the mass ofmaterial to be carbonized a metallic salt of such nature that it prevents immediate combustion of the material while permitting the carbonization of the same under heat, and then subjecting the mass while in the presence of air to sufiicient heat to carbonize it.

6. A process of carbonizing dried peat for the production of carbon consisting in disintegrating said peat, moistening same with a 1 per cent solution of sodium carbonate in the proportion "of one half to one pint of solution to one pound of dried peat, and roasting the resultant mass on a hot plate with access of air until completely carbonized. I

7. A process of carbonizing wet peat for the production of carbon, consisting in adding to said wet peat a metallic salt in the proportion of about 0.25 per cent, dissolved in the least ssible quantity of water, the metallic salt eing in the nature to prevent immediate combustion of the material but permit carbonization thereof under heat, in-

timately-mixing the solution with the peat,

of carbon consisting in treating said materials with a weak solution of ferrous sulphate, and roasting the mass in the presence of air.

9. A process of carbonizing carbon-containing materials such as peat, 'liguite, sawdust, suds and the like for the production of pure carbon, consisting in treating said materials with a weak solution of a metallic salt roasting the mass in the presence of air until completely carbonized. boiling the carbonized mass in a dilute solution of hydrochloric acid, and finally drying the resultant product.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

ALICE MARION HART. 

